During the first half, Real Madrid came out with the intentions of making a statement victory and blowing their opponents out of the water.
After Barcelona's grueling draw against Paris Saint Germain, they wanted to make a show of intent that they were superior and Manchester City was supposed to be their stepping stone, but the English club said... not tonight.
Real Madrid came to blow them away, but Manchester City also came to the Santiago Bernabeu again to make a statement.
This season, most of the media frenzy was on the intense rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The media focused so much on them that automatically, other clubs began to be overlooked.
This season, Manchester City had their resurgence as Pep Guardiola's machine began churning again with Erling Haaland scoring goals for fun.
But due to Barcelona's persistent threat, Real Madrid underestimated Man City's grit, but after that first half, they forced respect on their opponents.
